Emperor Cerdic Osborn
Emperor Cerdic Osborn (67 VE - ??) was the sixth Emperor of Verenia and the first emperor of the Osborn dynasty. He ascended to the throne following the death of his rival Emperor Jullien Tyce at the end of the visceral Bloodline Wars, fought between the Tyce and Osborn dynasties. Cerdic Osborn was the eldest son of Bayard Osborn and Jocelin Tyce, herself eldest child to Corbinian Tyce, making Cerdic a potential heir of both the Osborn and Tyce dynasties, a heritage that would bring him into conflict with his uncles Emperor Jullien Tyce and Jason Tyce. Emperor Cerdic's reign marked the beginning of a long period of tentative peace, marked by various rebellions from Tycenian loyalists following their defeat. His reign was also marked as the first emperor to leave the throne while alive, due to his retirement in 99 VE following a scandal concerning his knowledge of battle magic, an art forbidden for political administrators. While some debate when Emperor Cerdic's reign actually begun, it seems appropriate to mark it as the year when he first sat on the throne in Linares, that being the year of 92 VE after the Battle of the Arid Path. Early Life Cerdic Osborn was born in the year 67 VE to Jocelin Tyce and Bayard Osborn. When he was five years old, Emperor Darian Tyce died and Cerdic's grandfather, Corbinian Tyce, became Emperor. However, at this time it was generally agreed that the throne would be granted to Cerdic's uncles, Jullien and Jason, before him due to the patriarchal laws that passed over his mother, Jocelin, despite her being older than her step-brothers. This was brought up as objection by Jocelin and other detractors, and in 80 VE Emperor Corbinian announces that his line shall pass through Jocelin instead of Jullien, much to the surprise of many of the realm's lords. While Cerdic was only 13 at the time, he and his four other siblings (Thaddeus, Luelle, Barnet, and Bennet) became prepared to fight in the case of resistance from the Tyce dynasty. Thus Cerdic and his eldest brother Thaddeus began their adolescence learning the ways of war and strategy, both becoming fairly distinguished as up and coming warriors for the Osborn dynasty. On his 17th birthday, Cerdic finished 2nd in the Falstaff tournament, being beaten only by his cousin, Esmond Osborn. The worst predictions came to pass when Emperor Corbinian Tyce dies in the Starlight Palace in 85 VE. According to the guards that found him, Emperor Corbinian had reversed his decree that his line should pass through Jocelin in his last days, meaning Jullien was the true heir. In the rush to the throne, Jullien and Jason beat the Osborns to Linares and Emperor Jullien Tyce was crowned, forcing Jocelin and Cerdic to flee back to Falstaff and gather support for the upcoming conflict. Sure enough, only two years into the reign of Emperor Jullien, an army had begun to march on Falstaff to arrest Jocelin Tyce, meaning war had been declared. Bloodline Wars I'm not going into this right now lol. Important points: almost all of Cerdic's family dies (except Luelle and a few cousins), he marries Luana Neinna to secure an alliance, he becomes close friends with Devereaux and learns magic from him, he defeats Emperor Jullien at the Battle of the Arid Path and becomes Emperor of Verenia after the duel of Weston Lewis and Devereaux (Devereaux wins). Luelle Osborn marries Laurent Neinna, then Laurent Neinna is killed during the war, she remarries with King Vincent Syed. Cerdic's Reign